Tamika Upton (born 17 March 1997) is an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who currently plays for the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

. Her position is . She previously played for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

in the

NRLW The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

, and the

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, th ...

in the QRL Women's Premiership.Official Telstra Women's Premiership profile of Tamika Upton for Brisbane Broncos

. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Newton, Alicia (9 October 2020
Upton won't say no to rep jerseys again with Maroons, Jillaroos calling
NRL.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Walsh, Sean (27 August 2020
A set of six with... Tamika Upton

Souths Logan Magpies The Souths Logan Magpies, more commonly referred to by their former names Southern Suburbs Magpies, or South Brisbane Magpies, or often simply referred to as Souths, are a rugby league football club based in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Au ...

. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Edwards, Colleen (31 January 2020
Tamika takes every opportunity in her stride
Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved 9 October 2020.

Background

Born in Rockhampton, Upton grew up in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

and first started playing rugby league as a child in Blackwater. She is of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

descent. Prior to her career as a rugby league player, Upton played touch football. She represented the Australian national side, the Emus, during the 2017 Trans Tasman series. She also served as co-captain of the Queensland Cowboys during the NRL Touch competition in 2017. Upton has also played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

for local Central Queensland team, the Capricorn Claws.

Playing career

In 2018, she joined the Yeppoon Seagulls' women's side, where she played in

five-eighth Five-eighth or Stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional a ...

in the Rockhampton District competition.

2019

On 15 July, Upton signed with the

team. In Round 1 of the

2019 NRL Women's season The 2019 NRL Women's Premiership was the second season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season again operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to th ...

, she made her debut for the Broncos, starting on the in a 14–4 win over the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

. On 6 October, she started at in the Broncos' 30–6 Grand Final win over the Dragons. On 7 October, Upton was named in the Australian team for the 2019 World Cup 9s but withdrew and was replaced by

Tarryn Aiken Tarryn Aiken (born 14 July 1999) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the QRL Women's Premiership. She is an Australian 9s and Queens ...

2020

In February, Upton played for the Broncos at the

NRL Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...

, where she was named in the Team of the Tournament. In March, Upton joined the

Central Queensland Capras Central Queensland Capras are a semi-professional rugby league football club primarily based in Rockhampton, Queensland and representing Central Queensland. They currently play in the Queensland Cup, the premier rugby league competition in Quee ...

in the QRL Women's Premiership and later played for the

in the Holcim Cup. In Round 1 of the

2020 NRL Women's season The 2020 NRL Women's Premiership was the third season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the 2020 N ...

, Upton scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the first half for the Broncos in their win over the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

GIO Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ven ...

. On 25 October, Upton started at and scored a try in the Broncos' 20–10 Grand Final win over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

. On 13 November, Upton made her

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

debut for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, scoring two tries in a 24–18 win over

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

2021

In 2021, Upton joined the

in the QRL Women's Premiership, starting at fullback and scoring two tries in their Grand Final win over the Valleys Diehards. On 25 June, she started at fullback for Queensland in their 8–6 win over New South Wales. On 29 June, Upton re-signed with the Broncos for the 2021 NRL Women's season.

2022

On 18 May 2022, the

announced the signing of Upton and

Millie Boyle Millie Boyle (born 19 May 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently co-captains the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is . Boyle previously played rugby union as a flanker. She is a ...

ahead of the 2022 NRL Women's season. Upton made her club debut for the Knights in round 1 of the 2022 NRLW season against her former club the

. In the 2022 Semi Final against the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Upton became the first Knights player to score more than one try in a game, when she scored two tries in the Knights' 30-6 win to qualify them for the Grand Final. Upton would be awarded the Karyn Murphy Medal when she was named player of the match in the 2022 NRL Women's Grand Final, scoring a try in the Knights' 32–12 victory over the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

. The victory was Upton's third premiership title. Upton was named in the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

squad for the

2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the sixth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and was be one of three major tournaments part of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 1 November to 19 Novem ...

, but withdrew from the squad due to injury.

2023

In April, Upton re-signed with the Knights on a contract until the end of 2027.

References

External links

Newcastle Knights profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Tamika 1997 births Living people Indigenous Australian rugby league players Australian female rugby league players Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Newcastle Knights (NRLW) players Newcastle Knights (NRLW) captains Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rockhampton, Queensland Sportswomen from Queensland